Examining the Legality of Forced Conversion Therapy in India
Two years after the Navtej Singh Johar judgment which decriminalized homosexuality in India, the death of Anjana Hareesh, also known as Chinnu Zulfikar, shook the whole LGBTQIA+ community, earlier this May. Claimed to have committed suicide, Anjana identified herself as bisexual and was forced by her family members to undergo “conversion therapy” without her consent [...]
As a police station representative in the United Kingdom the impact of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests is eliciting a negative reaction in police stations from police officers. A recent case illustrates a concerning effort from the police to erode the right to protest. A client arrested during the BLM protest in London was [...]
Supreme Court rules courts can hear denials of cancellation of removal
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Nasrallah v. Barr that courts can review an immigrant’s factual challenge to a denial of their application to stay deportation under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Under US immigration law, “noncitizens who commit certain crimes are removable from the United States.” However, during these removal proceedings, a “noncitizen [...]
As we watch the revival of the first wave and anticipate an inevitable second wave, the intentionally inept federal, uneven and dangerous state and local, and self-interested business response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a horrifying experience. As the reality of the situation unfolds, the breach of public trust is breathtaking. The clear indifference of [...]
Lockdown Woes: The Dismal State of Domestic Workers in India
On 24th March, 2020, the Government of India announced a lockdown throughout the nation in an effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the largest such lockdown globally. With each passing day of the lockdown, India like other countries, is witnessing a rise in cases of domestic violence against women. In India however, [...]
First Circuit rules that asylum extends to women unable to leave a domestic relationship
The First Circuit ruled on Friday that “women unable to leave a domestic relationship” are a group eligible for asylum applications and cancellation of removal proceedings. The court’s opinion overturned a rule finalized under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018 that required the category of membership to be defined in separate terms from the [...]
Syria rights organization reports on methods of torture used by Syrian regime
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Monday released a report detailing 72 torture methods used by the Syrian Regime. Since the start of the democratic uprising in Syria in March 2011, almost 1.2 million Syrians have been arrested and detained for some period. The report documents 14,000 deaths in Syrian detention centers since [...]
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg rejected a request for referral under article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) by Italy last week making the Chamber’s October 7th decision in the case Marcello Viola v. Italy a final judgment. The ECHR has decided that an “irreducible [...]
Trump administration limits ability of Central American migrants to claim asylum
The Trump administration on Monday filed new guidelines with the Department of Homeland Security that limit the ability of Central American migrants to claim asylum in the US. The new rule, due to be published Tuesday, applies to migrants who come to the US by traveling through a third country. Migrants who fail to apply [...]
June 26 is a day designated by the United Nations as International Day in support of victims of torture. The General Assembly resolution creating the date imagined this as a day stakeholders – member states and their citizens – would unite in support of those that have endured torture and cruelty and recommit to ending [...]
